Three must-see games to be televised on Wednesday night

No. 22 Iowa State (10-6, 4-2 Big 12) will play its eighth match against a ranked opponent, and second against a top-10 foe, on Wednesday night as the Cyclones travel to Austin, Texas to face No. 8 Texas (15-3, 7-0 Big 12).

Wednesday is the 34th meeting between the programs and Iowa State’s last win against the Longhorns was in Ames in 2009 when Texas entered Hilton Coliseum as the No. 2 team in the country. Two of the leaders in the five-set win against the Longhorns will be back on the court on Wednesday for Iowa State. Rachel Hockaday and Jamie Straube, will have one more shot to down the Longhorns in Austin before graduating at the end of the season.

The Longhorns, who are on a nine-match winning streak, have not dropped a set since starting the Big 12 season. Their last two conference matches were sweeps of No. 14 Kansas State and No. 21 Kansas. During the Longhorns’ winning streak, the team is hitting .295 while holding opponents to a .122 hitting percentage. Haley Eckerman leads the charge for Texas, ranking third in the nation in points per set (5.3) and sixth in kills (4.65). As a team, Texas is third overall in blocks (3.17).

The Bruins enter the week seventh nationally in hitting percentage at .297 and are also in the Top 20 in three other categories. UCLA is 10th in assists per set (13.57), 12th in kills per set (14.52) and 20th in blocks per set (2.81). The Bruins are one of two teams (Penn State) that are ranked in the Top 20 in hitting, kills, assists and blocks per set.

Utah ranks fourth in the NCAA and second in the Pac-12's latest statistical rankings with a 3.16 block-per-set average as a team. The Utes have out blocked their foes in 10 of their 11 victories this season and hold a 10-4 mark in that scenario. After starting Pac-12 play with five consecutive losses, the Utes have won 2-of-3, winning in four against Washington State and sweeping Arizona State, both at home. The Utes are 0-3 against ranked teams, falling in four at home to both Stanford and Washington and in three at Oregon.

No. 1 Penn State
at No. 20 Ohio State

8 p.m.Big Ten Network

No. 1 Penn State (18-1, 8-0 Big Ten) heads to Columbus, Ohio for a midweek match with No. 20 Ohio State (14-6, 5-3 Big Ten). The Nittany Lions have won the last 10 meetings between the two teams. The Buckeyes' last win against PSU was Nov. 8, 2006 when the Buckeyes earned a 3-0 sweep. Penn State sophomore Micha Hancock’s 0.58 aces per set is good for third in the country and junior Katie Slay is right up there with her in the national ranks, sitting at fourth in hitting percentage with a clip of .452.

The top-ranked team in the country will have their work cut out for them as Ohio State has the help of senior Emily Danks, who has consistently been a big contributor for the Buckeyes all season. Along with her record-setting 212 career service aces, Danks reached another career milestone earlier this season when she became the 19th Buckeye to record 1,000 kills in a career. Ohio State ranks in the top 10 of four statistical categories amongst Big Ten schools including sixth in assists (12.68) and in kills per set (13.49), as well as seventh in hitting percentage (.249) and eighth in blocks (2.20).